Coble: Point leaders in shaky standing late in NASCAR season

ATLANTA -- For Bobby Labonte, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season is half-full. For Jeff Gordon, it's half-empty.

Don

Coble

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The stock car season that starts a week before Valentine's Day and ends less than a week before Thanksgiving is half over. Seventeen races done, 17 to go.

This Sunday's New Hampshire 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway officially starts the second half of the drive toward the series championship. The story lines created in the first 17 races will be a hard act to follow down the stretch.

Unlike seasons past, no driver has distinguished himself as the front runner. Victories that once seemed easy for the sport's elite now come with the regularity of a victory by the Atlanta Hawks.

After 17 races, Labonte is the points leader with just one victory and Gordon is in 10th with two wins.

Dale Earnhardt is second in the standings, but like Labonte, he only has one win. His son, rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr., is 14th with two wins.

Defending series champion Dale Jarrett is third with only one win. At the same time, Jeremy Mayfield is 19th with two wins.

There has been 12 different winners and nobody has won more than twice. At this time a year ago, Gordon already had won four times and Jarrett had three victories.

The diversity in Victory Lane has been so pronounced, Jarrett now concedes anyone currently ranked in the top 10 is a viable candidate to establish himself as a contender. In fact, he said the champion is likely to only have four victories.

Here's a look at the good, the bad and the ugly story lines from the first half, as well as a look into what's ahead:

BEST RACE: Cracker Barrel 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Not only were there 30 lead changes, but Earnhardt beat Labonte in a photo finish. The wildly competitive race came after the stock car season opened with consecutive duds at Daytona Beach, Fla., Rockingham, N.C., and Las Vegas.

WORST RACE: Daytona 500. For the Super Bowl of stock car racing, this year's season-opener fell well short of expectations. There were only nine lead changes and very little competitive side-by-side racing. Compounding the afternoon of frustration, finishing a race during a caution period.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Twelve winners. After seeing drivers like Gordon, Jarrett and Martin dominate the series in the past couple of years, having so many different drivers in Victory Lane - including a run of 10 different winners in the first 10 races - has been a refreshing development that's added a much needed spark to the sport.

NO SURPRISE AT ALL: After finishing second in the points race a year ago, Labonte has continued his momentum and consistency as the current front man in the points race.